Some movement is normal
When URLs change, Google recrawls and reindexes the site. Google says it can take weeks for a medium site to settle, and longer for large ones.
Traffic drop after a website redesign
A drop after a redesign usually comes from changed URLs without redirects, pages that were removed or blocked, or content that changed a lot. Compare the periods in Search Console, find the pages that lost the most clicks, and check each one.
Content changes count too
If the redesign cut useful text, merged pages or changed headings, the pages may now answer different searches. Compare the old and new content of pages that lost the most.
Diagnose it
Symptoms, checks and fixes
Common symptoms
- Clicks and impressions fell soon after the new site went live.
- Old URLs return 404, or many pages show as not indexed.
Checks to run
| Check | How to tell | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Is it really the redesign? | In the Performance report, compare with the previous period and the same time last year to rule out seasonality. | If the pattern repeats yearly, it is demand, not the site.[1] |
| Which pages lost clicks? | Sort pages by click difference in the compare view. | Work through the biggest losers first.[1] |
| Do old URLs redirect? | Open the old addresses of those pages and see where they land. | Add one-hop 301 redirects from each old URL to its closest new page.[2][3] |
| Are the new pages indexable? | Check the Page indexing report and inspect the new URLs. | Remove leftover noindex or robots.txt rules from the build.[4][5] |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Could it be a Google update instead?
Yes. Google lists algorithm updates, technical issues, security and spam issues, seasonality and site moves as causes. Check the dates against each.[1]
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Sources
- [1] Google Search Central: Debugging drops in Google Search traffic. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [2] Site Moves and Migrations (Google Search Central). Checked 9 October 2026.
- [3] Google Search Central: Redirects and Google Search. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [4] Page indexing report (Search Console Help). Checked 9 October 2026.
- [5] Search Console Help: URL Inspection tool. Checked 10 October 2026.
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